Last night, February 2, the most anticipated rivalry of the winter season occurred. After being rescheduled from a fizzled potential storm on January 21, the wrestlers of 18-0 Cinnaminson High School were finally able to wrestle the 13-3 Bears from Delran High School.

No matter the sport, whenever Cinnaminson and Delran match up against each other, the game is important, whether it matters for rankings or not. In this situation, it would determine the outcome of the BCSL Patriot Division Championship.

Going into Saturday, January 31st, both teams were undefeated. After Saturday, Cinnaminson remained undefeated after a 39-21 win over Pennsauken. Delran, however, suffered three tough losses at the Jack Welch Duals,  37-30 loss to Moorestown, 40-36 upset to Holy Cross and a 54-15 thumping from powerful Bound Brook, one of NJ.com’s top ranked teams in the entire state.

On Monday, February 2, fans of both Cinnaminson and Delran started packing into the gym at 4:45 for a 5:30 start and tickets quickly sold out for the tilt.

The match started at the 120 pound weight class where Cinnaminson’s sophomore Jarrod Averil wrestled against Dylan Wagner. The Pirates suffered a loss with a minor decision loss (9-3) against Averil.

Freshman Ryan Teague (126) turned it around when he pinned his opponent Orhan Kahraman after 1:42. This win was Teague’s 17th win and fifth pin of the season.

Delran answered with a pin from Phillip Rodgers on junior Ethan Schuler (132).

Junior Anthony Pencook (138) and senior Curtis Hickson (145) contributed four and six points, respectively. However, going into the match, Hickson’s match was considered a toss-up by most and helped to really swing the match for CHS.  Sophomore Mike Dunleavy (152) suffered a decision loss against Delran’s Michael Boyd when Boyd locked his hands with three seconds left, giving a point to Dunleavy to keep the margin at seven points.

The score was 16-12 going into senior Pat Morton’s (160) match against Delran’s Marcus Miraglia. The crowd roared for Morton, who pinned his Burlington Township opponent in 6 seconds last week. This match would not be as simple. Morton nor Miraglia could gain leverage on the other; they kept running each other out of bounds.  Normally, Miraglia fluctuates between 145 and 152, but last year’s region runner up bumped up to 160 to face Morton.

With three seconds left in the 3rd period, facing a 3-1 deficit, Morton almost gained two points to tie it up. The referee called him out of bounds, unfortunately, resulting in a loss for Morton. This is only Pat’s fourth loss of the season and 19th of his high school career.

Sophomore Shaun Davilla (170) and senior Zach Sireci (185) won by decision and major decision, respectively, giving the Pirates 23-15 lead over the Bears.

Sophomore Tyler Addlesberger was caught and pinned and the Bears closed the gap to just two points with a 23-21 score.

However, CHS would not lose again on this night.  At 220, senior Tom Halecki (220) faced Devin Rolon. Tom attacked his opponent, scoring five unanswered points within the first minute. Tom held the lead of the match and would go on to win by major decision, 11-0.

Heavyweight (285) Keith Swartley for the Pirates handily defeated Delran’s Calen West by a 5-0 decision. The score sat at 27-21.

With only two matches left, it was still possible for the the Bears to come back and win if they could pin in the next two matches.

Freshman Kevin Schoch (106) felt the pressure as he stepped onto the mat to wrestle Delran’s Dakota Hunter. If Schoch won his match, he would secure the win for the Pirates. The crowd erupted when Schoch almost pinned his opponent at the end of the first period. He would go on to win by major decision (16-0), securing the Pirates the win against rival Delran.

Senior Isaiah Elias (113) still had to wrestle. With a major decision win, Elias added another win to his collection, his 17th victory.

This match was not just for bragging rights until next years match up, but also for the division championship. With a 39-21 win, the Pirates were named Patriot Division Champions. The Pirates have their eyes set on the Central Group 1 Title. With a 19-0 record, that’s not a far stretched goal, but the Pirates will have to get through another undefeated team to do that, Point Pleasant Beach, who have a 15-0 record for the season.

As the top seed, the Pirates will have a bye from the first round, but will host the sectional semifinals match next Wednesday night.  If they advance, they’ll host the sectional finals match on Friday night.  If CHS wins both nights, they’ll win the school’s first-ever sectional group championship and advance to the group state championships next Sunday, February 15 in Toms River.